Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS 
Probably no greater change has occurred in mental hospitals than the successful 
introduction in the mid-1950s of  antipsychotic drugs  —drugs used to reduce severe 
symptoms of disturbance, such as loss of touch with reality and agitation. Previously, 
the typical mental hospital wasn’t very different from the stereotypical 19th-century 
insane asylum; it gave mainly custodial care to screaming, moaning, clawing patients 
who displayed bizarre behaviors. However, in just a matter of days after hospital 
staff members administered antipsychotic drugs, the wards became considerably 
calmer environments in which professionals could do more than just try to get 
patients through the day without causing serious harm to themselves or others. 
This dramatic change came about through the introduction of the drug chlor-
promazine . Along with other similar drugs, chlorpromazine rapidly became the most 
popular and successful treatment for schizophrenia. Today drug therapy is the pre-
ferred treatment for most cases of severely abnormal behavior and is used for most 
patients hospitalized with psychological disorders. The newest generation of anti-
psychotics, referred to as atypical antipsychotics, have fewer side effects; they include 
rizperidone, olanzapine, and paliperidone (Lublin, Eberhard, & Levander, 2005; Savas, 
Yumru, & Kaya, 2007; Nasrallah et al., 2008). 
How do antipsychotic drugs work? Most block dopamine receptors at the brain’s 
synapses. Atypical antipsychotics affect both serotonin and dopamine levels in cer-
tain parts of the brain, such as those related to planning and goal-directed activity 
(Sawa & Snyder, 2002; Advokat, 2005). 
drug therapy
Control of psychological 
disorders through the use of drugs.
antipsychotic drugs
Drugs that 
temporarily reduce psychotic symp-
toms such as agitation, hallucinations, 
and delusions.
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